univstats

Iowa Colleges' Graduation Rate

What is the Average Graduation Rate in Iowa?

The average graduation rate of Iowa colleges is 59.82%. It includes all institutions' rate (i.e. 4-years and 2-years or less) where the graduation data is available. In public colleges, the graduation rate is 45.16% and private schools' rate is 62.11%.
By gender, the female students' graduation rate is 72.27% and male students' rate is 64.34%.
The schools in below list are the top 3 Iowa colleges that have the highest graduation rate. Iowa State University has the highest graduation rate of 74% among Iowa colleges. University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa also have higher graduation rate of 73% and 63% respectively. For the ranking, we exclude colleges with less than 5,000 students. You can view more schools at Iowa colleges with high graduation rate.
The following table summarizes the average graduation rate in Iowa by school type and level.
The Average Graduation Rate In Iowa
TotalPublicPrivate (not-for-profit)Private (for-profit)
Total59.82%45.16%62.11%71.11%
4 Years Colleges62.42%70.00%62.11%55.50%
Community Colleges57.21%40.50%-72.94%
Trade Schools----

Bachelor's degree Graduation Rate

For the four-years Iowa institutions where BS degree grants, the average graduation rate is 68.31%. 14,441 students graduated out of 21,139 candidates. 200 students are still enrolled in the schools and 3,554 students are no longer enrolled or transferred out to other institutions.
By completion time, 11,163 students have completed their degree in 4 years or less as the rate is 52.81% at Iowa colleges. 2,907 students completed in 5 years and 3,354 students earned their BS degree in 6 years.
The following table summarizes the graduation rate and number of completers by gender and completion time for Iowa collegesNumbers in parentheses in each column indicate the number of completers over candidates in the corresponding category.
Graduation Rate by Gender and Completion Time at Iowa colleges
TotalFemale StudentsMale Students
Graduation Rate (in 150% normal time)68.31%
(14,441/21,139)
64.34%
(6,783/10,543)
72.27%
(7,658/10,596)
In 4 Years or Less52.81%
(11,163/21,139)
46.30%
(4,881/10,543)
59.29%
(6,282/10,596)
In 5 Years13.75%
(2,907/21,139)
15.89%
(1,675/10,543)
11.63%
(1,232/10,596)
In 6 Years1.76%
(371/21,139)
2.15%
(227/10,543)
1.36%
(144/10,596)
Transfer-out15.87%
(3,354/21,139)
16.19%
(1,707/10,543)
15.54%
(1,647/10,596)
No longer Enrolled0.95%
(200/21,139)
1.26%
(133/10,543)
0.63%
(67/10,596)
Still Enrolled14.78%
(3,124/21,139)
18.15%
(1,914/10,543)
11.42%
(1,210/10,596)
The following table shows the Iowa Colleges. You can see more schools and narrow down the results in search result page.
AllPublicPrivate4-Years CollegeCommunity CollegesTrade Schools
Iowa Colleges
School NameLocationTuition & FeesEnrollmentAcceptance RateGraduation Rate
Allen College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Waterloo, IA $20,444 497 - -
Briar Cliff University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Sioux City, IA $35,534 927 - 43%
Buena Vista University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Storm Lake, IA $40,190 1,973 77.27% 57%
Capri College-Dubuque
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Dubuque, IA $19,180 175 - 71%
Capri College-Cedar Rapids
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Cedar Rapids, IA $19,180 142 - 71%
Central College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Pella, IA $20,988 1,169 79.24% 71%
Clarke University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Dubuque, IA $39,600 965 84.80% 57%
Coe College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Cedar Rapids, IA $52,576 1,264 - 65%
Cornell College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Mount Vernon, IA $50,634 1,073 79.33% 63%
Des Moines Area Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Ankeny, IA $11,100 ($5,550) 21,637 - 33%
Divine Word College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Epworth, IA $15,000 68 - 100%
Dordt University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Sioux Center, IA $35,960 1,861 87.67% 67%
Drake University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Des Moines, IA $49,944 4,685 67.23% 76%
University of Dubuque
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Dubuque, IA $40,065 1,776 85.05% 39%
Ellsworth Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Iowa Falls, IA $6,312 ($5,304) 718 - 29%
Emmaus Bible College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Dubuque, IA $20,000 206 100.00% 81%
Eastern Iowa Community College District
Public, 2-4 years
Davenport, IA $6,299 ($4,680) 7,145 - 39%
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Ankeny, IA $19,530 448 52.45% 54%
Graceland University-Lamoni
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Lamoni, IA $33,220 1,237 74.49% 48%
Grand View University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Des Moines, IA $33,450 1,827 98.41% 52%
Grinnell College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Grinnell, IA $64,862 1,759 10.76% 88%
Orion Technical College
Private (for-profit), four-years
Davenport, IA $15,600 75 - 86%
Hawkeye Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Waterloo, IA $6,598 ($6,308) 4,787 - 33%
American Hair Academy
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Mt. Pleasant, IA $17,590 20 - 71%
Indian Hills Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Ottumwa, IA $6,120 ($4,872) 3,361 - 36%
Iowa Central Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Fort Dodge, IA $7,668 ($5,376) 5,058 - 37%
Iowa Lakes Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Estherville, IA $7,644 ($7,196) 1,960 - 37%
UnityPoint Health-Des Moines School of Radiologic Technology
Private (not-for-profit), 2-4 years
Des Moines, IA $4,000 19 - -
Iowa School of Beauty-Des Moines
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Des Moines, IA $19,756 77 - 66%
Iowa State University
Public, four-years
Ames, IA $27,683 ($10,497) 29,969 90.22% 74%
Iowa Western Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Council Bluffs, IA $6,930 ($6,780) 5,342 - 36%
University of Iowa
Public, four-years
Iowa City, IA $32,927 ($10,964) 30,015 86.00% 73%
Kirkwood Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Cedar Rapids, IA $7,968 ($5,980) 12,406 - 35%
La James International College-Cedar Falls
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Cedar Falls, IA $11,145 39 - 44%
La James International College-Johnston
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Johnston, IA $19,311 57 - 65%
La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Mason City, IA $20,650 59 - 71%
La James International College-Ft Dodge
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Fort Dodge, IA $19,311 21 - 100%
Loras College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Dubuque, IA $38,298 1,319 89.84% 67%
Luther College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Decorah, IA $50,320 1,610 75.32% 74%
Maharishi International University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Fairfield, IA $16,530 2,673 94.29% 50%
Marshalltown Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Marshalltown, IA $5,808 ($5,304) 1,707 - 35%
Mercy College of Health Sciences
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Des Moines, IA $17,328 911 96.71% 44%
Morningside University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Sioux City, IA $38,190 2,249 70.61% 56%
Mount Mercy University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Cedar Rapids, IA $39,070 1,526 75.27% 57%
North Iowa Area Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Mason City, IA $9,245 ($6,436) 2,479 - 54%
University of Northern Iowa
Public, four-years
Cedar Falls, IA $21,272 ($9,728) 8,945 94.95% 63%
Northwestern College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Orange City, IA $35,300 1,651 87.33% 62%
Northeast Iowa Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Calmar, IA $7,470 ($6,600) 4,355 - 48%
Northwest Iowa Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Sheldon, IA $7,410 ($7,110) 1,811 - 64%
Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Des Moines, IA - 1,527 - -
Palmer College of Chiropractic
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Davenport, IA $11,340 2,178 - -
PCI Academy-Ames
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Ames, IA $27,988 126 - 94%
Saint Ambrose University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Davenport, IA $35,598 2,747 73.92% 64%
St Luke's College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Sioux City, IA $20,940 196 80.00% 100%
La James International College-Davenport
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Davenport, IA $11,145 96 - 50%
Simpson College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Indianola, IA $46,212 1,151 89.10% 66%
Southeastern Community College
Public, 2-4 years
West Burlington, IA $6,450 ($6,450) 2,476 - 38%
Southwestern Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Creston, IA $7,248 ($7,024) 1,581 - 52%
Capri College-Davenport
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Davenport, IA $19,180 146 - 68%
Iowa School of Beauty-Sioux City
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Sioux City, IA $19,756 13 - 66%
E Q School of Hair Design
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Council Bluffs, IA $22,131 30 - 72%
Upper Iowa University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Fayette, IA $19,000 3,072 54.23% 42%
Waldorf University
Private (for-profit), four-years
Forest City, IA $25,220 2,763 73.86% 25%
Wartburg College
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Waverly, IA $51,040 1,444 97.45% 67%
Wartburg Theological Seminary
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Dubuque, IA - 186 - -
The Salon Professional Academy-Cedar Falls
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Cedar Falls, IA $16,900 94 - 70%
Western Iowa Tech Community College
Public, 2-4 years
Sioux City, IA $5,186 ($5,042) 5,150 - 42%
William Penn University
Private (not-for-profit), four-years
Oskaloosa, IA $28,750 1,473 57.67% 29%
Mercy-St Luke's School of Radiologic Technology
Private (not-for-profit), 2-4 years
Cedar Rapids, IA $4,125 22 - -
Ross College-Davenport
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Davenport, IA $16,297 28 - 61%
Faust Institute of Cosmetology-Spirit Lake
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Spirit Lake, IA $13,000 19 - 100%
Carlson College of Massage Therapy
Private (for-profit), less than 2-years
Anamosa, IA $10,375 32 - -
Aveda Institute-Des Moines
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
West Des Moines, IA $21,100 180 - 100%
PCI Academy-Iowa City
Private (for-profit), 2-4 years
Iowa City, IA $27,988 73 - -
Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School
Private (for-profit), less than 2-years
Urbandale, IA $16,915 43 - -